Umbrella
by Ichibiluva
Summary: A rainy day brings about an astonishing development between two members of the Ryodan. Set JUST after the Chimera Ant invasion of Ryusegai.


AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed my last fic! It's been raining a lot lately so I got inspired to write this. Enjoy! For all of you who have searched for ages for the Ryodan vs ant fights like me, it takes place in chapter 225 of the manga and goes on for about 6 or 7 chapters. All the Ryodan except Nobu, Franklin, Machi, Coltopi and Chrollo get fight scenes. It's really good, just a bit graphic but worth looking at.

It was raining in Meteor City. The clouds raining their tears on the town of invisible misfits, adding to the ever-present cloud of dreariness which hung over all the corners of Ryusegai. Rain.. So cold, and yet refreshing, if your city was built upon the trash of others. Half of the Genei Ryodan were huddled inside their lair, blissfully separated from the cold and wet outside. Nobunaga stretched lazily like a cat and yawned.

"Can't believe those guys aren't back yet. The opponents are only ants, after all" Machi shrugged, obviously more engrossed by the pounding of the rain on the corrugated roof and Franklin maintained an uneasy silence. The tactless samurai grinned and said,

" You're not honestly worried about her, are you? She isn't as weak as you think" He was answered with a cuff from Franklin and a death glare. Self-satisfied, Nobunaga settled himself in a moth-eaten beanbag and gazed out the greasy window to the shanties and run-down hovels nearby.

Sharlnark finished bandaging his arm and sighed

"All right, that's all of them I've killed now.. Back to the hideout for me!" His hair slick with rainwater, surrounded by the bodies of once-human chimera ant hybrids. After their victory in the ant castle, each of the Ryodan extermination team had gone to mop up any further resistance in every individual sector of Meteor City. Sharlnark was grateful to have been assigned to the smallest, most remote area, where there were roaming the barren plain. Not that he had an aversion to fighting, painful side-effects of AutoMode, but the prodigy did so HATE to get his hair soaked with rainwater.

Back at the hideout, everyone had returned, with the exception of Shizuku and Feitan. "Where are those two?' inquired Franklin. "It isn't like them to lag" Phinks flashed the monster a smirk. The Ryodan had, of course allocated the two of them the areas most riddled with ants, Shizuku being the least injured and Feitan the newly-appointed interim Dancho. But being the sort of person that he was, Phinks had proposed the idea with the intention of letting his Transformation using friend have a little time alone with Shizuku.

"Hey Bono!" Phinks called

"Twenty dollars says something's gonna happen between them!" Bonorenofu glanced upwards, meeting Phinks' eyes squarely.

"You're on"

Meanwhile, Feitan was trudging back towards the hideout, eager for a shower and a steaming mug of coffee. He hadn't had time to recover from his battle with Zazan who had broken his left arm, destroyed his favourite skull bandana and coat and damaged several internal organs. In short, he was having a bad day, and it was only going to get worse now the rain had started. With a flourish, Feitan produced and opened his umbrella; a single splash of colour in a grey, gloomy city. Any of the garbage disposal airships flying overhead would see a small circular moving patch of pink, a cheerful respite from a sea of colourlessness. He trudged along the well trodden road back towards the main hubbub of activity in Meteor City, only to stop when an astonishing sight met his eyes.

Shizuku was standing very still, head tilted back letting the raindrops slide down over her face and onto the ground. The shirt she had borrowed from Phinks lay discarded on the ground, for it was unrecognisably marred by blood and grime. Even after she removed it, the blood lingered on her body, ugly red smears on a pearly, pure canvas. Feitan felt a little overwhelmed by the sight of her, standing there unperturbed, soaked in the blood of her foes, standing there looking so innocent, so.. Normal. If not for the blood and ant corpses lying about, who would've guessed this sweet looking girl belonged to the Spiders? 'Such twisted innocence' thought Feitan. How he was fascinated by it, and her gift to simply forget so much of the terrible things they'd done. And seeing her on the plains, dressed in only her undergarments and the tattered remnants of her clothes was extremely inviting.

Shizuku was brought out from her daydreaming by a voice calling her name. She turned to face the speaker, blinking in surprise. Feitan's slender hand outstretched towards her, holding his umbrella over her. Shizuku smiled and the two walked back to the Spiders' haunt side by side. Neither spoke, for what there was between them could never be expressed through mere speech. Maybe it was their natural-born magnetism, for she was his opposite in many ways.. Hell, Feitan was surprised she wasn't a Reinforcement user. Just like the way he, a Henka type got along best with Phinks from the Kyouka group, he and Shizuku complemented each other's personality like the pieces of a jigsaw. Unconsciously, their hands found each other and held fast, their heads slowly turning to meet each other's fervent gaze. A tiny blush found its way onto Shizuku's cheeks and the corners of Feitan's mouth twitched. The two of them, strolling idly through the slums, turning heads with the confident and powerful aura they exuded. Pairs of shadowed, tired eyes followed as they walked, and even as they shared a secret moment out in the rain.

The door to the hideout swung open on its hinges with a creak. Every member of the Ryodan turned towards the sound of the noise to see Shizuku and Feitan standing in the doorway under the same umbrella. A curious expression adorned both their faces as they entered, Feitan shooting a last lingering glance at the younger girl before heading to his room. Phinks observed the way the blushing teen touched her lips briefly preceding the reapplication of her normal vacant expression. He smirked again and turned to Bono.

"I win Bono, pay up!"


End file.
